Photo: The Score
The NHL is becoming a laughing-stock of a league. No, this isn’t sour grapes over Derek Stepan, although the incident did spur this rant on. This is about the inconsistent officiating, the lack of accountability of the zebras and the lack of consistency in suspensions.
Dan Carcillo got ten games for mauling the linesman. That’s fine by me. It is in the rule book, and he deserved it. However, no punishment –that we know of– for the official who dragged an emotional player away from a non-staged scrum is laughable. This is hockey, let them work it out.
Brandon Prust got two games for “interference” on Stepan. I guess they are calling it interference because he didn’t receive a penalty in the game? Because Stepan played the rest of the game? But the hit was late, dirty, and broke Stepan’s jaw. Point of contact: The head. If you want to eliminate head shots, then you have to get this one right. Carl Hagelin got three games for a questionable hit on Daniel Alfredsson, one that didn’t break Alfie’s jaw. One that wasn’t late. Sure, that hit wasn’t exactly clean either. But if we are using the old “he has no rep” argument, then at least make the suspensions equal.
How about the officiating crew that missed the hit? You’re telling me all four officials missed that? Where’s the punishment for the four of them? They are still going to work the playoffs, and possibly the Stanley Cup Final. But yet, we don’t hear anything about accountability there. If I mess up that poorly at my job, I get fired. Suit would get his tie clipped.
This is a hypothetical here: But let’s say the refs actually give Prust the five-minute major and the game misconduct he deserved on that play. Derek Dorsett doesn’t get revenge by getting punched in the face, Carcillo doesn’t maul a linesman in the process, and maybe, just maybe, we are looking at some consistency with the suspensions. But of course, ALL FOUR missed it. I don’t even see how that’s possible. Wasn’t the idea of putting an additional ref on the ice supposed to prevent this?
How about the lack of respect among players? Players that complain about head shots, then go and make dirty plays like that and say it was clean. Prust, Matt Cooke, P.K. Subban, Sidney Crosby, all the spears and nut-jobs we’ve seen these playoffs. These are suspension-worthy in the regular season, but not in the postseason? What gives? No consistency.
The NHL and the Department of Player Safety are a joke right now. Everyone who has been watching these playoffs has been laughing at the officiating and the consistency. But yet they continue to force-feed us that these are the best playoffs. They ignore the issues at hand: The NHL officials have zero consistency and accountability for their jobs. It’s disgusting actually.
I think we can safely compare the job of an NHL official to the job of a weather man. Both can be wrong 75% of the time, and never lose their job.
Share:
More About:Rants